In a recent program partnership agreement signed with the Office of Congressman Kit Belmonte and with the support of the Office of the Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, and the DepEd Division of City Schools, Coca-Cola Philippines commits to provide 3,500 school children in the 6th District of Quezon City. Through the Minute Maid Nurisha Supplementary Program, Coca-Cola Philippines aims to help improve the health and well-being of school children.

Since 2005, Coca-Cola Philippines has worked with the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology to develop a beverage that will help alleviate Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) through the NutriJuice Program. The efficacy study conducted in 2006 has yielded very positive results among children suffering from IDA.

This year, Coca-Cola expanded the partnership with FNRI to develop a wider spectrum beverage product that will not only help address IDA but also the overall micronutrient deficiencies among school children through the Minute Maid Nurisha Supplementary Program. Using the fruit and nature expertise of the Minute Maid brand, Coca-Cola with FNRI developed a new clinically proven orange-juice drink that helps deliver 14 key nutrients to address common nutrient gaps in a child’s diet. Minute Maid Nurisha is given to school children ages 6 to 9 for free for a period of 120 days.

“Globally, we believe that nourishing the youth of today enables us to help build better and stronger communities tomorrow. We continuously strive to develop and innovate our products that help improve the well-being not only of our business, but of our consumers and the communities we serve. This is the very reason why Minute Maid Nurisha is not sold in your local grocery stores but distributed for free only through our partners, Department of Education, and the local government,” shares Adel Tamano, Coca-Cola Philippines Vice President for Public Affairs and Communications.

According to the 2008 National Nutrition Survey, malnutrition, specifically IDA - occurs in 19.8% or roughly three million children in the Philippines.

“IDA may lead to several health and economic problems including stunted growth, tiredness, poor work performance and physical and cognitive underdevelopment. It is best to treat IDA as early as possible,” shares Dr. Imelda Angeles-Agdeppa, Ph.D., Assistant Scientist, FNRI-DOST.

“The health and well-being of our students here in Quezon City is our outmost priority and we look forward to another great partnership with Coca-Cola,” concludes Hon. Kit Belmonte, 6th District Representative of Quezon City.

Dr. Helen Grace Go, Division Superintendent of the Division of City Schools says that the Minute Maid Nurisha Supplementary Program further highlights the value of partnerships between the government and the private sector in creating projects that are instrumental towards addressing the needs of students, teachers, and schools alike. “In programs like Adopt-a-School, we are able to open channels for private institutions like Coca-Cola to help provide a conducive learning environment to the students,” she further mentions.

About 300 students enjoyed Minute Maid Nurisha drinks, and had fun playing traditional Filipino games with volunteer associates of Coca-Cola Philippines. Meanwhile, their parents and teachers learned about the benefits of the product and how to create healthy meals that are within budget.

Minute Maid Nurisha is high in iron, which alleviates IDA, and contains 14 essential nutrients such as Zinc, Vitamins A, B-complex, C, D, and E; that aid a child’s physical and mental growth and development. Minute Maid Nurisha Supplementary Program also aims to promote an active healthy lifestyle among children at an early age.

Since 2008, the supplementary feeding program of Coca-Cola has impacted 242,000 children over the country. This year, the Company targets to impact 30,000 more.

Minute Maid Nurisha is not commercially sold. The implementation of the Minute Maid Nurisha Supplementary Program is under the Adopt-A-School Program partnership of Coca-Cola Philippines with the Department of Education. Coca-Cola Philippines is open to partner with public elementary school systems and other like-minded organizations. For interested organizations and/or schools, please send a letter of interest to Coca-Cola via Social_CokePH@coca-cola.com.

For more information on efforts around malnutrition of The Coca-Cola Company, please visit the nutrition section of the sustainability website:

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world's most valuable and recognizable brands, our Company's portfolio features 17 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.9 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.